Is Google Becoming the New Internet?

Do you remember the days when Google was just a search engine? You know, just another website to find what you were looking for. It’s no secret that Google is now the king of the hill while other search engines sit at the bottom. It has gotten to the point where most websites today are designed and based on, a criterion set by Google. Now I have no problem with Google. I applaud what they have done for the internet, and I am a frequent user and visitor of the website. However, as Google continues to embark in new territories I have begun to wonder, is it only a matter of time before Google IS the internet?

Google could now be your next ISP after announcing last month a trial of its own high-speed internet service, which they plan offering to “at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.” What makes Google different than the other various ISP’s? Well how about the capabilities of delivery speeds more than 100x faster than the typical U.S. Internet connections with up to one gigabit per second. In order to decide which 50,000 to 500,000 people will participate in the Google Fiber trial, Google launched this website with a video introducing “Google Fiber for Communities”.

Now it has become an all out royal rumble as cities across the U.S. compete with each other to become the first official home of Google Fiber. You may be surprised by the lengths some cities are going to be the favorite for Google. For instance Topeka, KS is no longer known as Topeka, it is now known as Google, KS. Duluth, MN fired back with a promise to name the town’s first-born children after Google. While Greenville, SC launched the “We Are Feeling Lucky”, an entire social media campaign that includes a landing page, YouTube channel, Facebook events, and Twitter hashtag. These three are far from alone when it comes to the cities vying for Google Fiber.

Communities have until March 26th, to exhibit their reasoning on why Google should pick them. While we will be waiting on Google to pick the winning city its one gigabit per second internet service will reside in, Google can already add another tally to their win column. The instant high demand for the Google Fiber service makes the desire people and communities have for a faster internet service. This proves that Google has the potential to offer something that is and will be a high-demand service.

Looking ahead, it still may be some time before we see Google Fiber on a nation-wide scale. Still we have to think, if Google is successful, what does this mean for the Internet as a whole? Considering Google’s launch of their own DNS and SPDY, which is an alternative to HTTP, is Google essentially building its own version of the internet?

Think back when Google built its own search engine. Now they are not only the dominate player in the search engine market, but various markets across the board as well. Is the same going to be said about the internet? If so, Google will not only know what we do on their services, which continue to grow, but also everything else we are doing on the internet. This is especially true if Google becomes our ISP. This is where I begin to see the answer to my initial question.

Whether or not Google will actually become the internet is still uncertain, but their current efforts tell me it is only a matter of time. Is controlling the internet too much power for one company? As Google continues to tighten its grasp on the Internet, will they ever stop? Should they stop? Let me know your thoughts through the comment section below.